Durso's 180 gallon in wall tank. - Page 24

nine9d · #**576** 10/02/2007, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by original-reefland
BTW - Got my MACNA XX tickets & room reserved.

AWESOME! And ditto.

original-reefland · #**577** 10/03/2007, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
It is a beautiful shot. So you don't have nitrate issues, hummm.

I completed my water tests tonight, a few things are a little low. I've tweaked the Ca reactor a bit to see if it helps. But my nitrates are still undetectable according to a SeaTest mid-range kit (1-10 mg/l).

melev · #**578** 10/03/2007, 02:12 AM

I can't wait to say the same about my system.

original-reefland · #**579** 10/03/2007, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
I can't wait to say the same about my system.

It could just be a junk test kit. I'd like to double check it with a different one. You use the salifert one right?

original-reefland · #**580** 10/03/2007, 11:21 AM

A bit off topic.. but with the holidays coming is anyone here a Trans-Siberian Orchestra fan? Just got my ticket for this season. Woot!

original-reefland · #**581** 10/03/2007, 12:09 PM

Green Pocillopora picture taken under tank moon light with aid of a flash. Colors are a bit washed out from the flash.

melev · #**582** 10/03/2007, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by original-reefland
It could just be a junk test kit. I'd like to double check it with a different one. You use the salifert one right?

Yes I do. And I learned from Habib at MACNA that if the color matches 10 or less, then you read it through the side of the beaker (and divide by 10), but if it is over 10, you read (color match) it from above.

I was reading it incorrectly for a very long time. What I should have realized was that any pink is bad pink.

original-reefland · #**583** 10/03/2007, 10:51 PM

I visited my father today (who has a reef tank) and he changed out his phosban media because it could not get water to flow through it. Turns out the media turned hard as a rock and he had a tough time getting it out.

I've never seen phosban turn solid before. Any suggestions on cause? Sand bed shows no sign of clumping. The media was only 2 months old.

melev · #**584** 10/03/2007, 11:27 PM

It is caused by elevated calcium levels, and possibly the flow being too slow through the media.

Julian recommends opening the ballvalve once a week to puff water through the media to avoid the clumping issue. ROWAphos is what turned hard in my reactor a long time ago.

original-reefland · #**585** 10/08/2007, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
It is caused by elevated calcium levels, and possibly the flow being too slow through the media.

Julian recommends opening the ballvalve once a week to puff water through the media to avoid the clumping issue. ROWAphos is what turned hard in my reactor a long time ago.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll pass it on.

original-reefland · #**586** 10/08/2007, 11:05 PM

After running a week with different calcium reactor settings, I tested tonight and got the exact same numbers. I was expecting a little better than that. I decided to drop the reactor pH a little more for the next week to see if that helps.

original-reefland · #**587** 10/10/2007, 03:40 PM

Just a little eye candy:

BrianPlankis · #**588** 10/10/2007, 03:55 PM

The acro and pocillopora shots are fabulous

I really like that acro.

Brian

original-reefland · #**589** 10/10/2007, 04:06 PM

Thanks Brian!

melev · #**590** 10/10/2007, 04:40 PM

Just gorgeous. I want one of those one day. My nitrates are down to 20 as of today.

Hop · #**591** 10/10/2007, 10:09 PM

Great pic Rich!

original-reefland · #**592** 12/29/2007, 12:20 AM

I haven't posted in a while as I've been pretty busy at work. I've been doing the basics only, no water changes, no carbon changes, etc. I haven't even cleaned the glass in about 3 months. I cleaned it for Christmas - mostly. Still have to clean around the edges.

The tank is still doing really good, several of my corals have reached the water surface. I've had a few smaller power outages, nothing major but the top of the birdsnest died off where they were exposed to air. A bit annoying, but the rest of the massive colony is fine.

The frags on the frag racks are ready to be fragged themselves.

The engineer gobies seem to have paired off, they share a hole under the rocks now. That could be interesting. No idea how they spawn or what to look for.

Clownfish are still spawning, I haven't bothered to track the time intervals.

Some minor problems, I toasted a heater. I've been using a WON Pro Heat II for several years without issue. It just makes a zip/zap sound when it turns on and the LED temperature readout stays blank.

Suggestions for another digital heater? While the WON heater had a bad rap I can't complain as I got many years out of them.

My green bubbletip anemones have been splitting over and over again and I can't even count them all now. They are not going up the glass as I hoped for to allow easy removal. They are attached to the rocks in hard to get at spot killing off some acropora branches.

Any suggestions on removal? I'm reaching the point where I might want to start killing some of them off if I can't get them out.

melev · #**593** 12/29/2007, 12:30 AM

Hi Rich! I can't believe you've been silent so long.

I don't know what to tell you about heaters, I use my Aqua Controller II to turn the Hydor and Ebo Jager heaters on and off as needed.

Can you remove the rock the anemones are on? If not, taking a powerhead and blasting their foot can encourage movement, or placing a icecube on their base will let you gently peel them off. BTAs are known for sinking their foot into a crevice, so it might be tough at first.

original-reefland · #**594** 12/29/2007, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
Hi Rich! I can't believe you've been silent so long.

I don't know what to tell you about heaters, I use my Aqua Controller II to turn the Hydor and Ebo Jager heaters on and off as needed.

Can you remove the rock the anemones are on? If not, taking a powerhead and blasting their foot can encourage movement, or placing a icecube on their base will let you gently peel them off. BTAs are known for sinking their foot into a crevice, so it might be tough at first.

Which Neptune Switch Box are you using? Do you need the DC4HD for heaters? Mine is full powering the halides. Do you set the ebo-jabber to something about 83 and the Aqua Controller to something lower such as 80 and off at 82? Somekind of window like that?

original-reefland · #**595** 12/29/2007, 01:07 AM

BTW - Got an Apple 16GB iTouch for Christmas, finally got my Reef Casts loaded. Listening to the back issues... already heard ya talking about Durso Standpipes a few times, thanks for the plugs.

I've completed the 2006 episodes.

melev · #**596** 12/29/2007, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by original-reefland
Which Neptune Switch Box are you using? Do you need the DC4HD for heaters? Mine is full powering the halides. Do you set the ebo-jabber to something about 83 and the Aqua Controller to something lower such as 80 and off at 82? Somekind of window like that?

I've probably got them set to 81F I'd guess.

I use x-10 modules to turn them on and off, and have done so for 3 years. The Aqua Controller II turns them on if the tank gets below 79F, and turns them off again once it reachs 79.5F.

My tank tends to stay between 79 and 80 all summer, but in the winter it wanders a bit if I don't keep an eye on it. Lately it has been dipping down to 78.3 and getting up to 80.7, but that is still quite stable over all. I love not having to pay to run my window unit these months, although electric heat for the house ain't cheap either.

Soon you'll be pestering me for stuff from 2008.

2007 was a barren year unfortunately.

original-reefland · #**597** 12/29/2007, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev

I use x-10 modules to turn them on and off, and have done so for 3 years.

Is that an X10 branded unit that sends signal over the wire, or is there an X10 branded unit that supports the direct connect Neptune uses?

poppin_fresh · #**598** 12/29/2007, 09:57 PM

AQII sends signals through the homes wiring.

original-reefland · #**599** 12/29/2007, 10:01 PM

Anyone have experience with RF noise from electronic ballasts? A few months back I converted my tar ballasts to PFO ARO Ballasts (3 of them) and the have progressively gotten "noisier".

No "noise" as in something you hear, but as interference. The tank uses three dedicated circuits. The TV's picking up signals are not on that circuit.. not even on the same floor. However my large HDTV shows no signs of it -- same room as the tank.

The noise is from visual lines, scrolling images, sometimes loud hum sounds -- all on lower channels. All TV's use cable TV, nothing over-the-air. Upper channels show no problems.

I asked Premium Aquatics about it (where I bought them) and Jason suggested some radio shack filters:

Quote:

I've heard Radio shack has some noise filters that can help, but also heard they don't help that much. That might be due to the way the signal escapes too. Not sure how much is flowing through the electric lines in the house and how much is just giving off a wireless signal in the air that the TV is picking up.

That doesn't sound promising. The ballasts are not enclosed. I guess I could make something if I knew what to make it out off.

Open for suggestions.

original-reefland · #**600** 12/29/2007, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by poppin_fresh
AQII sends signals through the homes wiring.

The AQII also supports direct connections. Thus why I was asking which he used. For example, ballasts are know for clobbering the signal thus the need for direct connects.

Not sure I'm comfortable controlling heaters without a direct connection.